Denmark
Parliament (Folketing) has denied the request for a Hindu prayer....
Hindu
statesman Rajan Zed’s request to Folketing Speaker Mogens Lykketoft to read
Hindu invocation as a part of the “divine service” at the next opening of
Folketing has ended in a denial with the response—“Parliament of Denmark must
respectfully decline your kind offer”—from Speaker’s PA Marianne Treumer
Ammitzboll. No reason of denial was given.
Zed’s
query for elaborating the reason of the denial of his request has not yielded
any response. The new sessional year of Folketing begins with a “divine service”
for members at Christiansborg Palace Chapel, initially built in 1700s.
Rajan
Zed, who is President of Universal Society of Hinduism, in a statement in
Nevada (USA) today, urged Her Majesty Danish Queen Margrethe Alexandrine
Þorhildur Ingrid, Prime Minister Helle Thorning-Schmidt and Lykketoft to make
efforts towards more inclusivity at the highest elected body of Denmark and
include prayers of “other” religions also at this opening “divine service” of Folketing.
Zed
stressed that though the Danish government claims to deliver religious freedom,
but it should work for providing religious equality also.
Rajan
Zed urged Evangelical Lutheran Church in Denmark (Folkekirken), its Copenhagen
Bishop Peter Skov-Jakobsen and other religious leaders of Denmark also to push
for inclusivity at Folketing, stressing that a more inclusive and broader
understanding of religion was needed as religion comprised much more than one’s
own particular tradition/experience.
Zed
pointed out that as Folkekirken was regarded as "the church of the
people", it needed to work more for the rights of minorities and other
voiceless people. Moreover, religion told us to help the helpless.
In
this statement, Rajan Zed also asked European Union, of which Denmark is a
member, to look into this exclusive Folketing practice as this should be unacceptable
in 21st century Europe which boasted of its human rights record.
Folkekirken,
Denmark’s “official national church” where Christianity was introduced in 960
CE, with Queen Margrethe II as the supreme authority, claims 80.4% population
of Denmark as its members. Besides Folkekirken members, there are considerable
number of Roman Catholics, other Christian denominations, Muslims, Buddhists,
Jews, indigenous Norse system believers, Hindus, Baha'is, Sikhs and
non-believers in Denmark, reports suggest.
According
to “2011 Report on International Religious Freedom” on Denmark by U.S.
Department of State, there were occasional reports of societal abuses or
discrimination based on religious affiliation, belief, or practice, such as
anti-Semitic and anti-Islamic insults, harassment, and vandalism. The
constitution and other laws and policies protect religious freedom.
Located
in Christiansborg Palace, Folketing comprises 179 Members. The Danish
Constitution is embodied in the Constitutional Act of 1849, most recently amended
in 1953. Denmark is rated among
nations with best quality of life, highest per capita income, and low
unemployment. Its literacy rate is 100%.
Hinduism,
oldest and third largest religion of the world, has about one billion adherents
and moksh (liberation) is its ultimate goal.
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